


Heat and Hatred

by BlairCanWrite



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: A ZUTARA STORY, BUT THEY ARE STILL KINDA RELEVENT, F/F, F/M, Multi, OTHER RELATIONSHIPS ARE JUST EXTRA, THEY STILL HAPPEN
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-05-16 23:10:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14820708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlairCanWrite/pseuds/BlairCanWrite
Summary: A heatwave sweeps the Earth. Miraculously, Katara and Zuko end up working together to stay alive, separated from their friends and family. The temperature was expected to drop long ago, but from the looks of it, it'll last far longer.They both just want to find home, but to do so, will have to use eachothers skills. Sounds like hell, and feels like it too.Set just after the invasion.





	1. An Unexpected Meeting

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Brightest Nights or Darkest Days](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/457946) by Kittenshift17. 



Zuko lay afloat on the water, a small secluded lake surrounded by a circle of trees. Nobody aimlessly walking could ever spot a place as hidden as this. The leaves formed in a canopy which sheltered his camp from rain, the sun and other elements. On top of that, you'd have to climb a dozen feet to reach the bottom. Which is exactly what Zuko did, and why he decided to remain. 

Katara scouted for a hideout. There were many caves cool enough for shelter, but there was always a problem. Whether it be no food source, little clean water, too obvious to the eyes, and most were just a tad too small. Not that she had many belongings. A small sheet to sleep on, a flint and steel light and her water pouch is what she managed to scurry away with.

But there was perfect, and seemingly nobody had found it before her. She pulled up her hood to cover her face from rocks and what-not, and proceeded to scale down the exterior walls of her new 'home'.  On her back she carried most all of her items. On her travels, she had managed to pick up things she never thought she'd have to use.

Her feet touched the ground softly, but loud enough for Zuko, out of the water and re-clothed, to hear. His head snapped to her direction as he darted behind a nearby rock. 

Katara sighed and wiped sweat off of her forehead, revealing her face to look at her sightings. Her heart started pounding as she saw the shabbily put up tent, and stomped out fire. Somebody had clearly been her. She had been wrong.

Hastily, the young woman turned to leave, hoping that the inhabitant had not noticed her. But he had.

Zuko made action, pulling her arms behind her back and pinning her body against the wall.

"Who are you and how did you find me!" He exclaimed loudly.

Katara resisted, "Let go of me you creep!"

"Tell me who you are!" Zuko persisted, "And I'll consider it."

"Fine!" she said, still in a lot of pain as Zuko dug his fingers into her shoulder, "My name is Katara. I am a waterbender from the South Pole, and I am friends with the Avatar!" She screamed under the threat, hoping for an ally.

This made Zuko let go and tumble back, realising who it was. "I'm so sorry!" he yelled in apology.

The waterbender winced and rubbed her back. When she realised who it was, she immediately got into a fighting stance, and drew several litres of liquid from the lake.

"Wait! Wait! I don't want to fight you," Claimed the Prince as he put his hands up.

Katara still held onto her water.

Zuko noticed that something was off, a little odd about her. "Where is the rest of your crew?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." She accused, stiffening. "Aang isn't with me right now, so don't even think about it."

He huffed quietly. "I don't want to hunt you and your little friends down anymore. Believe it or not, but I'm actually banished from the fire nation again." He struggled to get the next part out, but it happened, "I actually was hoping to join your team."

Usually, Katara would have protested, but she was in no state to.  Her stomach had been empty for 3 days now, and she had drunken the rest of her bending water out of desperation. Her bones ached and she just needed a rest. 

And a wash.

She let go of her water arms, as not to waste her energy bending.

"Okay. Sorry to disapoint you, but me and my friends have been separated."

"Oh." Zuko said, shocked. He had never seen Katara so weak and desperate before, even if she wouldn't admit it. "Would you like something to eat?"

To this, Katara looked at him in shock. She had not expected such kindness from him. "No thank you, I've eaten already." She lied out of pride.

But her stomach rumbled loudly.

Zuko chuckled to himself, which the girl would've commented on, had she the energy.

"I hope you like Carp-bream then. I'll get some on a fire real soon." The firebender offered and he walked toward camp.

"Oh, and you can stay here if you want. I wouldn't want to hog this place all to myself, and let you be alone out there." He started a small fire, and placed  a thick slate on top of it. It warmed up for the fresh fish, caught earlier in the day. "I don't know what they'd do to you."

Her heart pumped faster than before, breathing heavier too.

"Yes, believe it or not, I do care about you not being..." He stopped himself, but it was too late to go back now. "Taken advantage of."

There was a long silence, interrupted only by the wood crackling in the fire, or the meat sizzling under the pressure of a stick.

"What do you mean?..." She said finally. "What do you mean taken advantage of?" A little louder now.

"Well, uhm... you know..." Zuko stuttered. "Maybe, exploited in, uhm, work because you're so young, or, uh, older men, attacking you, or, maybe" he coughed, "you know... They aren't nice people, Katara." He spoke more clearly now. "The fire nation citizens aren't kind at night when they're drunk."

It took immense concentration for her to hold back tears, but she managed anyway. Because something did happen. Almost happen. 

"It's done."

Zuko took the fish off of the fire, and passed it to an unstable Katara inside a leaf.

"Be careful. It'll be hot."

Shakily, Katara accepted the meat. She examined it carefully, as if Zuko had managed to poison it. And as if she hadn't been staring at it the entire time, scared of him still.

The smell reminded her just how hungry she was, her mouth watering sloppily. The girl took a small bite to cleanse it, putting on a show that she was, infact, not hungry at all. The fire prince examined closely, making sure his gaze was felt. 

But she gave in, and scarfed it down in under a minute.

They sat in silence for a while later. The girl was still wary of him, and stared him down until she kew she was close to passing out.

The sun no longer shone through the thick tree leaves, showing just how late they had been doing this, as it set at around 11 in summer.

"Zuko."

"Yes, Katara?" He said through a yawn.

"I want to go to sleep. Make it happen."

He was a little startled at how confidently she had demanded it. Nonetheless, he complied to her command, and lay out her small rug.

"Where do you want it?"

She shivered slightly. "Wherever is warmest. Please." She only muttered the politeness, but it made Zuko smile anyway.

He considered it for a while, but eventually placed it right next to his, looked Katara straight in the eye and  asked, "Do you want my blanket?"

She looked mortified. "What're you doing, freak!"

"You said warmest! And it gets cold at night, you know! I'm a firebender, and I can keep you warm. Now do you want my blanket or not?" Zuko protested, a little embarrassed that she had taken it that way.

"Yes."

She snatched it from him, and climbed into her area. "Goodnight, then."

"Thank you."

(First chapter is a WHOLE ASS one-shot :)) 


	2. Morning Came.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day in their situation.

Zuko woke up the second morning from a cold, wet wave of lake water being thrown at his face, immediately attempting to use his firebending to steam it off, yet not burn his clothes to a crisp.

"What the hell, Katara!?" He yelled furiously, his voice rasped and husky as it was when he just woke up.

He could feel the sun only starting to climb the sky, just a short while after dawn. "It's hardly morning yet!"

"Zuko, we need to get a move on. The faster we leave, the higher chance I have of finding my friends." Katara spoke with a noticeable amount of anxiety in her voice, making it clear how vulnerable she felt when separated from her pack.

Zuko sighed, not quite knowing how to break the upsetting news to her. "We can't leave yet, Katara it-"

"What do you mean! Zuko, I need to!" She intervened, looking down in frustration.  "I need to find my friends."

The prince's heart broke watching the mighty and fierce Katara in such a state of desperation. It was almost enough to convince Zuko to pack up the next second out of pity, but he had rightfully decided that pity would never be enough alone to get chosen over his better judgement.

 "We aren't leaving today."

The girl only stared in disbelief, waiting for some kind of explanation.

Zuko sighed and steamed himself off. "Because we can't travel like this. The next town is just 5 or 6 miles away, but we should stay here until we work things out for sure. I mean, we'll die if we leave now! We haven't rationed enough."

He didn't say it, but Katara knew he wanted to, " _we don't have enough, now that you're here._ "

"Then we better get started." She stated, turning and hauling a massive amount of water into corked bottles and pouches. As she did so, Zuko begrudgedly arose to wash himself up in the lake they had settled near.

Katara yelped and let down all the water she was bending mid air, soaking herself but unable to remove it, as she covered her eyes with her hands.

"What are you doing!" she demanded "put some clothes on!"

Zuko lay in the water, in peace and ignoring her cries of discomfort. "I was here first, waterbender. Get used to it."

"Don't call me that, you arrogant princess."

He chuckled softly, looking at her and hesitating before proposing "or perhaps you could join me?"

A heavy silence rang throughout the vicinity, Katara turning redder and redder, Zuko attempting to stifle his laughter, before loudly letting it all out, struggling to stay afloat as he splashed in amusement.

He was still howling as he got out, wrapping a sarong around his waist, leaving his torso and hair dripping, glistening in the early light.

"Mind helping me out  here, sweetheart?" He asked with a cocky smile, opening his arms.

Violently, Katara removed all the water from his hair and skin, leaving it on the ground at his feet.

"I can't see HOW you could possibly find it appropriate to be so ridiculous at such a time! Honestly." She ridiculed as she continued to gather supplies and tidy up, stone in the face and making it clear that she wasn't in the mood for his stupid jokes.

He continued to ignore her naggings while he dressed into his wrappings and trousers, putting on but not tying his robes, as he knew it would soon get far too hot to be wearing anything at all.

Zuko sighed and approached the very stressed out, very tired Katara who was yet to slow down in packing up.

"Listen, Katara," He started, and her ears perked at how genuinely he had said her name "I know things might not be going how you wanted them to... or me even. I mean, we certainly weren't expecting each other, but now that we're here and now we're together the best thing we can do is help keep it that way." Zuko paused and waited for the girl to turn and look him in the eye, interrupting her before she could get angry again. "I know how much you hate me, okay. I get it. I also don't blame you. But I'm trying to be grown up here, right? For once. So if you're not going to even listen to what I'm saying then sure, leave. But don't expect to get very far."

Tension hung on for a while after Zuko had finished his dramatic monologue, a ten-second stare down between the two before he announced that he was going to 'find some meat.'

She didn't say bye, but when she knew he was gone far enough she sat by the water and stared at the soft reflection of rustling leaves and the occasional sparrowkeet. She let the tear that fell out of her eye roll down her face and onto her knees, as she cradled her legs. More and more she felt the build up of tears that had first started to rise when she got separated and had continued to up until that very moment. Then, at last, it crashed like a dam and she was sobbing on the ground.

\---

He waited until he was a good distance away from camp before yelling in pure frustration, and punching the tree that stood so innocently next to him. He was supposed to be over his whole 'asshole' phase, and genuinely believed all that he was talking about when addressing Katara, so why did it feel so bad to be honest? For once, the boy was following the path Uncle would have wanted him to, done everything that he imagined the man would've told him, as though Iroh existed as a small voice in Zuko's head. And yet still, he felt as though he had failed, had ruined any chance of a stable relationship with the girl who would probably travel with him for a long time - however long that may be.

\---

Zuko arrived back at camp, carrying on his back stacks of dried wood, charred at the edges from where he'd used his firebending to cut it, and in large sacs were (dead) small mammals like squirrels and a few birds. Katara had soon picked herself up after her long-awaited meltdown, however traces of the event remained in her puffy eyes and short temper.

They didn't exchange hello's, nor did they really even seem to acknowledge one another, only to catch each others gaze for a moment while they did their own thing. Occasionally, an attempt would be made by either party to talk about  what had been said, both feeling the need to apologise.

Soon enough, it was night time. They had eaten in silence, gotten ready for bed in silence and eventually tucked themselves in in silence. The problem was: like the desert, the unbearable heat during the day was accompanied by freezing temperatures at night. And unfortunately for Zuko and Katara, a fire and some sheets weren't gonna cut it.

No, she wasn't going to admit to being cold. Curled up in a ball and teeth still chattering, past all her attempts to silence them. Zuko bolted his eyes open, able to regulate his own temperature using the natural fire within him, but still struggling to sleep while listening to Katara and her constant expression of her chill. He turned once again, like he had tried the first night, and wrapped his own body around hers, his body heat immediately melting into her skin. She was shocked, gasped but did not protest, even settled into the embrace if she dared.

"Don't get too comfortable, waterbender." He stated, unsure why he felt the need to himself and felt himself drifting off, easier than before.

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
